HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Inherit the Stranded Users of Dead Competitors

Inherit the Stranded Users of Dead Competitors is a partnerships & affiliates tactic for getting your first users: When a competitor winds down, strike a revenue-share or migration deal to take on their orphaned users.

It's a strong fit for B2B SaaS teams, and works especially well for SaaS with identifiable direct competitors. As a partnerships & affiliates play, plan for medium effort and expect results to arrive at a steady pace, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

Partnerships & affiliatesMedium effortMedium

Why does partnerships & affiliates work for this?

You acquire pre-qualified users who already wanted exactly this kind of product.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

Unlock the steps · $29 oncePlus all 3,000+ tactics and the new ones we add weekly.

Sources

Works for
B2B SaaS

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Inherit the Stranded Users of Dead Competitors" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for B2B SaaS — pick it when your product looks like that, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Inherit the Stranded Users of Dead Competitors" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is medium effort, and results tend to be medium.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

Related tactics

Partnerships & affiliatesMedium effort· Slow

Bake A Two-Sided Referral Into Onboarding

A referral mechanic wired directly into the product experience that rewards both the existing customer and the friend they bring, triggered automatically once a user is happy.

Read the steps →
Partnerships & affiliatesLow effort· Fast

Complementary Cross-Promotion

Pair up with companies that serve the same buyer but sell something adjacent rather than competing, then recommend each other to your respective audiences. You borrow the trust and attention they have already earned with your ideal customer.

Read the steps →
Partnerships & affiliatesMedium effort· Medium

Sell a White-Label Version So Others Distribute for You

Offer a white-label/reseller license of your product so other businesses rebrand and sell it, expanding your reach into B2B at higher price points.

Read the steps →
Partnerships & affiliatesMedium effort· Fast

Teach a Masterclass to Borrow an Audience

Offer to host a free webinar or workshop for an influencer's audience where you teach something genuinely useful and quietly use your own product to do it.

Read the steps →
Partnerships & affiliatesMedium effort· Slow

Do Their Homework: Hand Partners the Content, Not Just the Link

Remove the friction of promoting you by producing the briefs, keyword research, article outlines, and content concepts your partners would otherwise have to create themselves.

Read the steps →
Partnerships & affiliatesMedium effort· Medium

Sell Your Service White-Label to Bigger Agencies

After cold outreach to end customers flopped, the founder repositioned the agency as a behind-the-scenes white-label subcontractor for larger firms in the same niche that can sell but lack delivery staff.

Read the steps →

Get all 3,000+ tactics in one place

Filter by your product and channel, follow the exact steps, and get the new tactics we add every week. One payment, yours for good.

Unlock for $29 onceBrowse by channel